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SUMMER
Iwoke lying on a hard surface. When I opened my eyes, bright lights overhead pierced them. Wincing, I shut them again. I tried to lift my arms and move my legs, but they were pinned to the surface.
Panic roared through me, and I struggled but could not break free.
My brain suggested I was back in the commune. They’d captured me and given me to the leader. He’d tied me down and was about to claim me as his own.
When I tried to shriek, my mouth wouldn’t open. All I could do was whimper. Oh, and cry. Tears had always come easy.
Footsteps approached, but they were muffled as if the beings were close but also some distance away. It made no sense, but that was how it sounded.
“This time, they will fail,” one said as if speaking through water.
No, I was surrounded by water. I felt its gentle swish across my exposed arms and legs. A whoosh was followed by a release, and for the first time, I realized something had been stuffed inside my mouth. No, it plunged down my throat. It controlled my breathing. It controlled me.
Jade said we were kept in suspension after we were kidnapped from Earth. Was that what was happening to me now?
“How can we be sure they’ll fail?” a second voice—female? —said.
Feet shuffled again. “We’re putting one of the Universal Council in charge of this Game.”
Game . . . The Galaxy Games? I remembered the arena, the announcer, and him. He was kind to me, and the vulnerability—no hope—in his eyes made me want to give him a big hug and tell him everything was going to be okay.
Adone, that was his name. Where was he? I had a feeling if he were with me, he’d send me reassurance through his touch.
Water kept flowing around me, and my head spun, telling me they’d given me drugs. Why else would I feel so calm?
“I like the idea of a Council member running this next Game. You’ve seen the male in their event. He’s big and strong. He could win this by might alone.”
“We don’t need to worry. Look at her. She’s puny in comparison.” The female chuckled. “And since she has to be an equal member of the team, she’ll slow him down.”
“Perhaps they balance,” the first voice—male—said. “And don’t discount her mind. She could be clever.”
Thanks.
“I doubt it. I’ve read about her planet. They’ve barely reached toward the stars. It’ll be ages before they’re ready to join the world federation, assuming they live that long. They seem eager to kill each other.”
“If she’s vicious like them, she could be a formidable competitor.”
“No, I believe she’ll make this a short game.” The voices faded. “I doubt they’ll make it past the first event. In fact, I’m betting on it.”
The male laughed. A door shut, and I was left alone in silence. More drugs pumped into my veins, and my brain spun . . .
I woke, lying on a hard surface with my arms free.
Someone groaned nearby.
I struggled up onto my elbow and took in the tiny spacecraft much like the one that had taken me and Adone from the arena. Because I was worried mechanical arms would drop from the ceiling and finish me off, I scooted as far into the corner as I could.
Adone lay on the floor on his side, his eyes closed, and his body curled into the fetal position. The ship was so small, he wouldn’t be able to stretch out even if he wanted.
“Welcome to the Galaxy Games,” someone shouted above us, making fear jolt through me. I jerked my head back to look up, not finding a speaker, but this was an alien craft, not Earth. They must do things in a different way.
I scooted closer to Adone, though I didn’t quite dare get near enough to touch. I’d had time to think—sort of—and I was worried I’d been too forward with him back in the arena. He could be married, for heaven’s sake, and I’d almost leapt all over him.
He’d been a kind face at a scary time of my life, and I’d clung to him like a log in a turbulent sea.
It was time for me to swim on my own.
